The State Duma proposes to shift the start of classes at night by an hour

The government was proposed to introduce the so-called winter school time. This appeal was sent by State Duma deputy Alexey Nechaev (“New People”). He asks that during the shortened daylight hours, lessons begin an hour later. According to the deputy, this will improve the well-being of children, increase their academic performance and make the road to school safer. The Ministry of Education does not comment on the initiative. The opinions of the teachers interviewed by Kommersant were divided. Some say that this proposal cannot be implemented in schools with two shifts, where a clear class schedule is important. Others believe that there are no technical obstacles to postponing the first lesson, but this is pointless, since “you can’t please everyone.”

State Duma deputy Alexei Nechaev (“New People”) approached Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova with a proposal to introduce “school winter time” (the document is in Kommersant’s possession). He asks that during the period of reduced daylight hours, lessons should begin at least an hour later. Please note that educational organizations now independently set the start time for classes. However, they are required to comply with state sanitary norms and rules (SanPiN), according to which lessons cannot begin before eight o’clock in the morning. In most Russian schools classes start at 8:30.

Mr. Nechaev writes to the Deputy Prime Minister that in the fall and winter, “at 7–8 am, schoolchildren go to educational institutions in the dark.” This negatively affects their well-being, the deputy believes. Whereas a later start time for lessons – “for example, at 9:30” – will allow children to get better sleep, which will have a positive impact on their performance. In addition, they will not have to cross roads in the dark, as is happening now.

The Ministry of Education has not yet responded to Kommersant’s questions about the deputy initiative. “The proposal to move lessons to a later time is a very humane idea that will have a positive impact on the entire educational process,” says Dmitry Kazakov, member of the council of the Teacher trade union, teacher of history and social studies. “A well-rested child learns information better, and a well-rested teacher becomes more and more interesting.” explains. I hope someday we will get there, but obviously not now.” The teacher notes that most parents will find it more difficult to combine work schedules with later “getting their child to school.” He also reminds that “in a huge number of schools” there is a second shift: “This is a necessary measure. But in order to finish the second shift before seven in the evening, the first shift has to study from eight in the morning – it won’t work out later.” Let us note that in March of this year, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said that in Russia more than 2.5 million schoolchildren study in the second shift – this is approximately 14% of 17.7 million students.

The director of Moscow school No. 109, Evgeny Yamburg, believes that it will not be difficult to introduce such a schedule in schools. But personally, he doesn’t see the point in this, since all children are different “and you can’t please everyone.” Mr. Yamburg reminds that there are many more serious problems in the school system that deputies need to solve: “We have a huge difference in teachers’ salaries across regions, although they do the same work. This is something we need to finally sort out.”

Teenage psychologist Irina Zaikina positively evaluates the idea of ​​starting classes later: “This is especially important for teenagers, since physiologically they have melatonin (the hormone responsible for the process of falling asleep.— “Kommersant”) is produced at a later time, so they often stay up past midnight. And in principle, hormonal changes require more time to recuperate.” Mrs. Zaikina believes that the shift in the start of classes will also please children who are “early people”: they will be able to engage in “pleasant activities” before school that they didn’t have the strength to do in the evening, and then go to classes in a good mood. “The rest will be able to get enough sleep and get ready for school without haste, which will only have a positive impact on the entire educational process,” says the psychologist. Mrs. Zaikina, however, admits that postponing the first lesson can create problems for parents who work on a strict schedule: “Often they take their children to school when they go to work themselves, and by a later time there will be no one to collect the child and take him to school.”

Academic Director of the Foxford online school Ekaterina Latypova notes that early learning time is one of the reasons why families decide to transfer their child to distance learning. “Teenagers’ circadian rhythms are naturally shifted toward the lunch and afternoon hours. And most schools start classes very early and prefer to give tests in the morning,” says Ms. Latypova. “This seriously affects the children’s efficiency and can lead to problems with sleep.”

Polina Yachmennikova